Apparatus for salvaging sunken vessels



Oct. 31, 1933. H. F. G. LAMPE 1,933,269

APPARATUS FOR SALVAGING SUNKE'N VESSELS Filed May 10, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet l 1? H b :1 0) (ID INVENTOR Oct. 31, 1933. H. F. a. LAMPE APPARATUS FOR SALVAGING SUNKEN VESSELS Fild May 10, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Oct. 31. 1933. H. F. G. LAMPE 1,933,269

APPARATUS FOR SALVAGING SUNKEN VESSELS Filed May 10, 1932 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 9 327, INVENTOR Oct. 31, 1933. LAMPE 1,933,269

APPARATUS FOR SALVAGING SUNKEN VESSELS 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed May 10, 1932 nm l i IJULL] NVENTOK Patented on. 31, 1933 APPARATUS FOR SALVAGING SUNKEN VESSELS Hermann Friedrich George Lampe, Philadelphia,

Application May 10, 1932. Serial No. 610,369

6 Claims. (01. 114 -51) a provide a specially designed eye for securement My invention relates to new and useful improvements in appliances for rescuing crews from sunken submarines and has for its object to provide a rescue vessel so constructedand equipped that divers may be lowered to the submerged submarine for attaching chains or cables thereto, said rescue vessel also being so constructed that "when the submarine is raised by these chains, the tower and the hatch-way covering the same will be brought above the water level within an open space provided in said rescue vessel.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hoisting mechanism especially adapted for lifting the submarine.

A further object of the invention is to provide twin fioats so chained together that after the submarine has been elevated these fioats may be positioned beneath the submarine and by increasing their buoyancy cause the submarine to be seated upon certain of the chains couplingthe floats together.

A further object of th e inventionis to provide a specially designed hook to beattached to the ends of the lifting chains whereby it will be prevented from disengagement when hookedto suitable eye carried by the submarine.

A still further object of the invention is to to the submarine with which the hooks may be engaged. 7

With these and other ends in view, this invention; consists in the details of construction and combination of elements hereinafter set forth and then specifically designated by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this invention appertains may understand how to use and-make the same, I will describe its construction in detail, referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings forming apart of this application, in Which:

Fig. 1 is an end elevation of a rescue vessel showing a submarine suspended therefrom by the lifting chains.

Fig. 2 ma cross section of the rescue vessel showing the submarine suspended therefrom but in the position it assumes when elevated to bring the upperend of its tower above the water level.-

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1, showing the submarine seated upon the connecting chains upon a pair of floats before said submarine has been detached from the rescue vessel.

Fig. 4. is an end elevation of a pair of floats showing the submarine seated upon the connecting chains of said floats, said floats having been space the for revolving the'secondary hoisting shafts independent of the main hoisting shaft.

sufficient buoyant to. elevate the major portion of the submarine above thewater line. a

Fig. 5 is a plan view of the rescue boat show-, mg in diagram, a submarine in the central open divers exitsv and the hoisting mechanisms. Y

Fig. 6 is a side view of a portion of the stern of the rescue vessel showing the normal water line and the'propeller for navigation.

. v Fig. 7 is a diagram representing'a cross section of the rescue vessel showing the hoisting chains in their wells and the open space for the reception of the tower of the submarine.

Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating the automatic stop for the hoisting mechanism.

Fig. 9 is an end view of the main hoisting shaft showing the worm gear wheel for revolving said shaft and the worm for revolving said wheel.

Fig. 10 is a plan View of the main hoisting shaft, the worm gear carried thereby and the secondary hoisting shafts and clutches therefor.

Fig. 11 is a detail view partly in section of the sectional hoisting shaft.

Fig. 12 is a detail section of the mechanism Fig. 13 is an end view of Fig. 12, showing the hand operated worm in engagement with the worm wheel of one of the secondary hoisting shafts.

Fig. 14 is a side-view of Fig. 13. I

Fig. '15 is a'detail viewof one of the sleeves carried by the posts for guiding the hand operated worm wheels. 1

Fig. 16 is a plan View of one of the guide plates for the hand operated worm.

Fig. 17 is aside view of one'of the-attaching hooks for connecting'the lifting chains to the submarine. g

*Fig. 18 is a detail view of the lock carried by the hook. I

Fig. 19 is an end view of Fig. 18.

Fig. 20 is an edge view of the latch for closing the hook. a t

Fig. 21 is aside view of Fig. 20. 1

Fig. 22 is a plan view of a portion of the deck of the submarine showing one of the attaching. eyes projecting through said deck.

Fig. 23 isa section of Fig. 22, showing the construction ofthe attaching eye and the means of may be seated;

shafts to revolve with the main short shaft.

Fig. 26 is a plan view of a pulley and guide for guiding a cable to assist in shifting the position of the submarine upon the float.

Fig. 27 is an elevation of Fig. 26.

Fig. 28 is an edge view of Fig. 26.

Fig. 29 is a side elevation of one of the floats.

Fig. 30 is a cross section of a pair of floats showing the valve for admitting water in one of said floats and the relative position of a ladder or stairway for gaming access to and exit from one of the floats.

In carrying out my invention as herein embodied, 31 represents a rescue vessel having an open well 32 in the central portion thereof for the accommodation of the exit tower 33 of the submarine 34. This rescue vessel is also provided with the vertical passageways 35 through which divers are to be lowered in gaining access to a sunken submarine for the attachment of the hoisting chains 36. The lower ends of said chains carrying the hooks 37, the construction of which latter will be hereinafter explained. V 7 a The hoisting mechanism for raising and lowering the chains consists of a series of units, each unit comprising a worm wheel 38 with which meshes the worm 39, the latter being secured upon a motor shaft 40, revolved by an electri or other suitable motor.

The worm wheel 38 is secured upon the short shaft 41, journalled in the-bearings 42 secured to the deck of the rescue vessel. This short shaft hasslidably splined thereon on each side of the bearings 42 a clutch member 43. ,7

Numeral l4 designates two extension shafts,

each journalled in the bearings 45 and the end of these extension shafts may be socketed to fit over a reduced portlon of the short shaft 41 as clearly shown in Fig. 11.

The inner end of each of the shafts 44 has secured thereon the clutch member 46. with'which the clutch members 43 are adapted to engage. The sliding clutch members are manually operated by the levers l7 pivoted at 48, the lower ends of these levers being extended into the grooves A9 on the clutch members 43, so that by the proper manipulation of these levers one or the other of these clutch members l3 will be put into engagement with its corresponding clutch member 46, thus causing either or both of the extension A sprocket chain wheel 50 is secured upon each of the extension shafts and over these chain wheels run the hoisting chains 36, the idle portion of said chains passing into the wells 51, so as to fagc'litatethe manipulation of these chains during the hoisting operation. V

The numeral 52 represents secondary worm wheels, one of which is secured upon each of the extension shafts 4a, and with these worm wheels, the worms 53 are adapted .to engage.

Each of the worm wheels 52 is surrounded by four posts 54, said posts being secured to and projecting upward from the deck 55 and upon each set of these posts is slidably mounted a base plate 56 carryingthe two bearings 5'7 in which is journall-ed the shaft 58 carrying the worm 53.

The numeral 59 represents stationary plates, one of which is secured to each set of the posts 54, and these plates act as a bearing surface for the cams 60, two of which are loosely mounted lines in Figs. 12 and 14, the action of these cams will force the base plate 56 downward and carry the worm 53 into engagement with the worm wheel 52. A reverse movement permits the springs 62 to elevate the base plate and lift the worm out of engagement with its worm wheel as will be readily understood.

Each of the extension shafts 44 has secured thereon the brake drums 63 with which the brake levers as are adapted to coact for holding the extension shafts against rotation when unclutched from the main short shaft 41. Each of the extension shafts also has connected therewith a depth gage 65 so that the depth of each of the hoisting chains operated by each of these shafts may be indicated to facilitate the grappling and lifting of a submarine.

It is intended that each submarine in service shall have a series of eyes 66 located along the edge of its deck,'these eyes projecting upward through openings formed in the deck, and each eye having formed therewith a shoulder plate 67 for bearing against the uncle-r surface of the deck and prevent the eye from being withdrawn and as a further means of securing the eyes rigidly in place, the straps 68 are formed therewith. These straps being of sufficient length to reach the frame work of the submarine to which they are bolted, riveted or welded.

The hooks 37 for engagement with these eyes are each provided with a latch 69 pivoted as at '70 to the hook so as to swing across the opening of said hook for retaining the hook upon the eye 66 when once engaged therewith. 71 represents a locking lever which is pivoted at '72 to the hook and the outer ends of this lever are adapted to swing into contact with the squaredheel of the latch 69 as clearly shown in Fig. 17, thus securely locking said latch in its closed position when it is desired to disengage the hook from its eye. v, The. locking lever 71 is swung out of contact with the by signaling to enable the rescue vessel to take the proper position above the submarine, after which these divers attach the hooks of the hoisting chains to the eyes 66. When this has been. accomplished, the motors of the hoisting units are put in operation to draw in the hoisting chains to lift the submarine to the proper position relative to the rescue vessel to cause the exit tower Iv 33 to rise within the open well 32 until the upper end of said tower is above the water level, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. When this has been Mill accomplished, the crew of the submarine may readilyescape' therefrom to the rescue vessel.

In the operation of the hoisting units for liftingla submarine after the chains have been attached to the latter, it is essential that each chain bear its portion of the weight, and this is accom- 1 plished in the following manner:

W hen a lifting pull has first been putupon the hoisting chains, an attendant at once tests the grip of the clutches by attempting to swing the levers 47 to disengage the members of said clutches, and those which readily unclutch indi- 1.1a-

cate that the chain being drawn in by the sprocket wheel corresponding to that particular clutch is slack or not, lifting its proportion of the load; When this has been determined, pressure is put on the proper brake 63 to hold the extension shaft from -retrograde movement until the proper worm 53 isputintomesh with its worm wheel 52 by the swinging of the lever 61 in the proper direction tocause the cams to force the base 7 plate 56 downward against the action of the springs 62 to bring about this engagement of the worm, and worm wheel, after which the revolving of the worm-by the hand Wheel 58a secured upon theshaft 58 will revolve the corresponding extension shaft A l carrying the chain wheel 50 overwhich -the' slack chain runs, thus taking up the slack in said'chainafter'which the sections of saidclutch will be again disengaged.-

When this testing has'been applied to the two extension shafts of each of the-hoisting units, all of the-chains will shareequally in the raising of the submarine during the continued operation of the hoisting mechanism. This is; one. of the es sential featuresofmy invention in that it insures the effective raising of a submarine and avoids any liability of one or. more. of the chains being broken by an overload. V 1 1 The fact that the extension shafts may be unclutched from theshort driving shafts also provides for the rapid lowering of the hoisting chains .to' facilitate the quick attachment of these chains to the submarine prior to the raising of the latter, since after the worms 53 have been disengaged from the worm wheels 52, unclutching of the members of 'the'clutch'es will'permit said extension-shafts to freely revolve in a reverse direction under the control of the brakes 63, thus rapidly lowering the hoisting chains. As a-safety'means for preventing the jamming of the submarine against the bottom of the rescue vessel, Iprovide a push rod '73 slidably housed in a suitable casing, its lower' end projectingbelow the bottom of the rescue vessel. The upper end of this rod being so located as to operate the switch lever '74 to close the electric-circuit 75, which circuit may include a bell or lamp or both located adjacent to the position of the person controlling the hoisting mechanisms, so that just prior to the submarine being drawn into contact with the bottom of the rescue vessel this rod will be forced upward by the submarine, thereby giving the proper signal for the stopping of the hoisting mechanisms.

As my rescue apparatus is intended for open sea use, the rescue vessel upon which the hoisting mechanisms is installed must be a sea worthy vessel and should be provided with two or more decks, giving proper shelter to the crew.

In case the damage to the submarine has been such as to fiood the middle compartments whereby preventing the escape of the crew, it then becomes necessary to convey the submarine to a station properly equipped, raise it out of the water and drain these flooded compartments. is accomplished by the use of the float 76 which consists of two cylindrical tanks 77, the interior of each being divided into compartments by the partitions 78, and each compartment has located in the bottom thereof a float valve 79, the operating stem 89 thereof extending through the stuffing box 81 and carrying the hand wheel 82.

The numeral 83 represents a water passageway leading from the outside of each of the tanks to each of the float-valves '79, the outlet from said passageway being considerably above the bottom of the float so as to avoid it from becoming clogged, should the float rest upon the water bed.

These tanks are spaced apart by the chains 84 and the yokes 85; the latter being attached to admitting sufiicient water to the tanks through the float valves to bringthe float. beneath the submarine, and when properly positioned, the submarine is lowered untilitseats upon the supportingv chains 86, as shown in Fig.3, after which the water is blown out of the tanks by forcing compressed .airuinto :said tanks in orderthat the float and'submarine carried thereby may rise to the. top of the water, the float now acting as a dry deck for the submarine, and may be towed 1 to port. I

Of course I do not wish to be limited to the exactedetails'of construction herein shown and described. asithese may be variedwithin the limits of the appended claims without. departing from the spirit of my'invention.

Having thusfully described my'invention, what I claim as new and useful is:

1. A submarine rescuing apparatus comprising a rescue-vessel, multiple hoisting units carried by said vessel, hoisting chains adapted .to be raised and lowered by said units, means for determining whether all of the chainsare sustaining their proportionof the load, means for taking up the slack 'inany of the chains'which may not be.

sustaining their proportion of the load, a safety hook carried by-the end of each of the chains, said hooks bei'ngadapted to engage with eyes secured upon the submarine to be rescued, means for preventing the accidental displacement of the books from said eyes, and a central open wall for accommodating the exit tower of the submarine so that the top of said tower may be raised above the water level within said well. I

2. In an apparatus of the character described, a rescue vessel having a central open well for the accommodation of the exittower of the submarine, said rescue vessel also having smaller open wells through which divers may be lowered to gain access to a sunken submarine, a series of double hoisting units, each of said units comprising a power shaft upon which a wheel is secured, two extension shafts in alignment with the power shaft, a chain wheel secured upon each of the extension shafts, clutches for engaging and disengaging the extension shaft from the power shaft and means for revolving the extension shafts independent of the power shaft when unclutched therefrom, hoisting chains adapted to be raised and lowered by said chain wheels, safety hooks carried by the lower end of ea-chof said chains, said hooks being adapted to engage with eyes of the submarine to be rescued, depth indicators under the control of the extension shafts for indicating the depth to which the chains have been lowered, and meansing a power shaft, a power wheel securedthereon, means for revolving said power wheel, two

extension shafts in axial alignment with the power shaft but independent therefrom, means for clutching each of the extension shafts to the power shafts and unclutching said extension shafts, a chain wheel secured upon each of the extension shafts, a hoisting chain carried by each of the chain wheels, a worm wheel secured upon each of the extension shafts, a worm meshing with each of said worm wheels, 2, vertical slidable base plate upon which the worms are journalled, two cams secured upon each of the worm shafts, nests of posts upon which each of the base plates slide, a stationary plate secured to the upper end of each nest of posts against which the cams act, springs for forcing the base plates upward, means for forcing the base plates downward, whereby the worms will be put into or out of mesh with the worm wheels, and a brake carried by each of the extension shafts for controlling the reverse movement of the last named shafts when the latter are unclutched from the power shaft.

4. In a rescue apparatus of the character described, a series of multiple hoisting units, means for transmitting power to said units, hoisting chains adapted to be raised and lowered by said hoisting units, a safety hook carried by the lower end of each chain, each hook having a latch so pivoted thereto as to close the hook, a locking lever also pivoted to the hook and adapted to so engage with the latch as to prevent it being accidentally opened and a series of eyes with which said hooks are adapted to engage, each of said eyes being adapted to be passed through an opening in the deck of a submarine, a shoulder plate formed upon each eye, said plate adapted to lit and to be secured to the under surface of the deck through which the eye projects, said eye also having a series of prongs extending therefrom for securement to the frame work of the. submarine.

5. A submarine rescuing apparatus comprising a rescue vessel, multiple hoisting units, each of said units having a fixed location upon said vessel, hoisting adapted to be raised and lowered by said units, means so associated with the hoisting units as to determine whether all of the chains are sustaining their portion of the load, means combined with each hoisting unit for winding up the slack in any one ofthe chains independent of the other chains, means for attaching the free ends'of said chains to the submarine to be rescued, and an open well into which the exit tower of the submarine may be hoisted to raise its upper portion above the water level Within said Well.

6. A salvaging apparatus for hoisting sunken vessels, comprising a power shaft, a power Wheel secured on said shaft, two extension shafts in axial alignment with the power shaft but independent therefrom, means for clutching and unclutching each of said extension shafts independent of the other to and from the power shaft, a chain and wheel secured to each of the extension shafts, a worm wheel also secured upon each extension shaft, a worm adapted to mesh with each of said worm wheels, means for manu- I ally revolving each of said worms, and means for engaging and disengaging the respective worm with and from the respective worm wheel, whereby each extension shaft may be revolved independent of the power shaft after being unclutched from the power shaft.

HERMANN FRIEDRICH GEORGE LAMPE. 

